We are pleased to announce our new 'Seeds for the Future' technical advice bulletins for turf growers. Each bulletin is designed to provide technical information on a variety of topics including: Fewer Weeds in Your Turf, Lower Water Usage - More Drought Tolerant, Less Chemicals Needed, Better Shade Tolerant Grasses and more. Be sure to check out our first edition here: Establishing Kentucky Bluegrass into Perennial Ryegrass or Changing Genetics.

Crop Report - Spring, 2015

With some warmer temperatures in February and March following a mild winter, many of our Cool Season grasses are ahead of normal growth stages. A recent cooling of day temperatures will help to slow grop growth. It still appears that we may have an earlier harvest pending the rest of our spring weather.

Generally, the crops look normal, but there have been some battles with slugs and voles (field mice). The voles eat seed tillers and with mild conditions, they build up large populations. Baiting must be done by hand and placed underground to avoid injury to migrating geese. Also with mild conditions winter annual weeds continue to grow, requiring additional herbicide applications and some of these materials reduce seed yield potential.

With very little snow this year, Oregon is concerned about major water shortages and drought conditions. Basically the harvest is yet to be determined and the weather (which is largely unpredictable in Oregon in the springtime) will be the deciding factor on yields.